Chapter Four: Concern

concern: to be of interest; to involve; anxiety

~*~

Jongdae woke up to the sound of the TV and his phone buzzing in his ear. Nearby, he heard a voice mutter something incoherent. Reaching for his phone, Jongdae checked the message he just received from Kyungsoo. Apparently Kyungsoo had a huge surprise he wanted to reveal later that day in person.

Baekhyun returned his attention to the TV, listening to the news anchors commenting about the Yoonkyu Fire. He wondered when they were going to give it up. No one was going to find any sort of evidence. The whole damn high school burnt to the ground. Little remained to be scavenged through, just debri and ashes.

He switched the channel -- same story. Glancing down at the moving figure, he gently kicked the brunet's back, "Yah, Jongdae. Do you think they'll find the perpetrator for the Yoonkyu Fire?"

"I don't know," the brunet yawned, rubbing his eyes. "If anyone did it, it's probably someone that held extreme hatred for Yoonkyu. That would be difficult to find because Yoonkyu is an old high school and a million people have probably attended it by now. Your brother went to Yoonkyu, right? My brother went too. Even my father and Kyungsoo's father went there."

"Yeah, and my mother," Baekhyun responded.

"Baekyun, I'm hungry."

Baekbeom decided to appear and take a seat beside his younger brother, "Baekhyun, your boyfriend's hungry." Baekhyun had given up repeating himself about their relationship, only rolling his eyes in response to his immature brother. "Jongdae, what do you want to eat?"

The young brunet was still taken aback at Baekbeom referring to him as Baekhyun's boyfriend. What amazed him more was the fact Baekhyun hadn't disagreed or said anything. Smirking, Jongdae glanced up at the raven-haired male, "Oppa, you should make us some ramen like yesterday."

Baekhyun flinched, slowly turning to meet Jongdae's eyes, "Who are you calling Oppa? Don't lead my brother on about our nonexistent relationship."

Jongdae turned to Baekbeom, "I've found myself in an unrequited love." Placing a hand on his chest, Jongdae gasped, "Is this... is this how rejection feels?" He reached over and took Baekhyun's hands, much to the raven-haired boy's annoyance, and pouted as best he could, his eyelashes batting, "Oppa, please don't reject me."

Oh my god, someone kill me.

He has nice eyes.

"Let go," Baekhyun hissed as he tried tugging his hands free.

Baekbeom laughed and got up, "I'll prepare the ramen while you two sort out your relationship. Hope you don't mind if eat with you."

Baekhyun felt something twitch inside his chest as he blinked back at the young male kneeling in front of him. His eyes froze on the other's face -- or more specifically his lips. The image of last night flashed into his mind. Their lips had been about a centimeter apart before he chickened out. Snapping out of his thoughts, he kicked Jongdae in the stomach, "Quit being gay. I'm going to terminate our deal."

"Isn't this what I'm paying you to do?" Jongdae replied before separating himself.

Recovering from the chills, Baekhyun returned his attention to the television screen.

Several minutes later, Baekbeom waltzed in with a pot of steaming instant noodles and three pairs of chopsticks. The three ate while having small talk about what was on the news. Then while Baekbeom was washing the pot and chopsticks, Jongdae and Baekhyun returned the living room to its original state.

Baekhyun didn't expect his father to wake up until awhile later. As for his mother, he wouldn't be surprised if she came down the stairs dressed for the outside world. She did, in fact, and kissed both her sons on the cheek before taking off, even hugging Jongdae, much to the young brunet's surprise.

"Skinship, it's all about the skinship," Jongdae said to Baekhyun as he hugged him from behind. Startled, the older boy dropped his cellphone, his phone case flying off and landing under the dining table. "What are you doing?"

Baekhyun refrained from the vulgar criticisms he wanted to shoot at the young man behind him. "My phone," he managed to say. "If it's broken, you're buying me a new one."

"R-Really...?"

"Let me go. I let you hold me last night already," Baekhyun hissed through gritted teeth. Elbowing Jongdae's chest, Baekhyun retrieved his phone and case. "My screen is cracked." He the phone in Jongdae's face, "I just got this last month and you ing broke it!"

The young brunet frowned, slightly offended and taken aback by Baekhyun's crude language, "I didn't break it, you did. You should have held on tighter if it was that imprtant to you."

"Give me money for a new phone. Right now."

With a nervous chuckle, Jongdae told Baekhyun he didn't that kind of money on him at the moment, but if Baekhyun was willing to wait, Jongdae would rush home, get the money, and come on back. Overhearing their conversation, Baekbeom told Jongdae to stay put and said he would be the one to buy his irresponsible and shameful brother a new phone.

Baekhyun angrily retreated upstairs, nearly slamming the door shut but at the last second he remembered his father. Throwing himself on his bed, Baekhyun screamed into his pillow.

Left downstairs in an awkward situation, Jongdae scoffed, "He's acting like a teenage girl. It's just one small crack."

Baekbeom couldn't help but laugh, "Yeah, that's my little brother for you. Sometimes I swear he is a teenage girl. He's one hell of a drama queen; it's overbearing but it can be endearing at times."

"I should get going, he probably hates me now." Jongdae retrieved his belongings and stuffed them in his backpack.

"What happened anyway?"

"I just hugged him and he freaked out. Then he started demanding I pay for his phone because I broke it." Jongdae headed out the door, waving bye to his new friend's older brother.

Sighing at his immature little brother, Baekbeom climbed the stairs and knocked on his brother's door before trying the door knob. When he entered the room, Baekhyun was muttering something while his phone. Upon seeing his older brother, Baekhyun walked over to the locked box and retrieved the letters he wrote. He held it out to Baekbeom, "I wrote these for you. I would have sent them but of course I didn't have your address."

"You should really apologize to Jongdae," Baekbeom said as he took the letters. "He looked like a sad puppy. It really wasn't his fault, you just overreacted."

"He touched me."

"From what he said he hugged you."

"That's touching. No one touches me, espe-" Baekhyun was cut short when Baekbeom threw his arms around his brother and began suffocating the little bastard against his chest.

"Not even me, little poop? You better apologize to him later. Did you want to go to the shop to get a new phone now?"

Limited in his movements, Baekhyun slid his hands up his brother's shirt and pinched as hard as he could. Howling back in pain, Baekbeom released his brother and lifted his shirt up to inspect his stomach. Huffing, Baekhyun pushed his brother out the door and locked it before looking for a change of clothes, "I'll buy my own phone with my own money."

---

Detective Cho knelt down and squinted his eyes at the object lying under a burnt wood piece. Carefully picking it up, he inspected it before placing it in a plastic bag as possible evidence. He stood up and sighed, eyes scanning what used to be Yoonkyu High School. He walked over to Prosecutor Byun and handed her the bag, "I found something."

She plucked it from his hand and gave it one quick look. The pen appeared somewhat familiar, but she couldn't place a finger on it. She nodded and thanked him before placing it inside the bag slung over her shoulder. The pen already forgotten, she approached Prosecutor Do who was placing an item inside a plastic bag.

She quickly stopped him before he dropped it in. Gulping, she extended her hand, "Can I see that?" Without questioning his colleague and friend, Prosecutor Do handed her the bagged item. Prosecutor Byun furrowed her brows and chewed her bottom lip.

It can't be.

"Is something wrong?" Prosecutor Do questioned, gently taking her trembling hands.

Prosecutor Byun parted her lips to reply, but quickly stopped. Perhaps, if she didn't say anything... but it was her job, no? "I think... I think I've seen this before."

"You have?"

He said the set was one-of-a-kind.

---

The Byun brothers made their way to a nearby hand phone shop where Baekhyun purchased the exact same phone, not caring that it wasn't the latest model anymore, if ever. Baekbeom had originally thought his poop brother would go for the new model because that's what he would have done, but he should have known his brother disliked change and had a tendency to slip into trends once it got old.

Baekhyun disliked fitting with everyone else, hence the reason he begged the school authorities to allow bow ties and cosmetics. He went to the trouble of making a petition and behold, students were allowed ties fashioned in any way, make-up and styling of the hair to an extent.

The weekend after the school announced the change, Baekhyun and Chanyeol rode their bikes to the Cho Cho Salon so Baekhyun could dye his hair. Not wanting to be flashy, Baekhyun went with black. Chanyeol grinned and had given his friend the thumbs-ups, saying it made Baekhyun seem mysterious. That was an extremely high compliment in Baekhyun's book as he was the Well. Of course, Baekhyun never told Chanyeol that.

As they made their way toward the exit, Baekhyun carefully eyed his brother, "Do you by chance have a phone number?" Baekbeom shook his head. Lips pursed, Baekhyun took out a pen and reached for his brother's arm, scribbling his phone number. "In case you ever need or want to contact me."

"Thanks, but couldn't you have waited until we got home?"

---

The brunet stopped in his tracks when he saw the two brothers through the shop window. He backtracked and hid behind the wall, hoping neither of them saw him. After several seconds, he dared a peek... only to look back at the eldest brother. Greeted with a smile, Jongdae felt obliged to return it. Having been caught, he began making his way over, but after a subtle shake of Baekbeom's head he came to a halt. With one hand Baekbeom took his brother's wrist, while with the other he gestured Jongdae back.

Jongdae obeyed, not knowing why. He stood with his back against the wall for several more moments before he saw Baekhyun walking away the opposite direction of where he stood. Once the raven-haired male was out of sight, Baekbeom approached the young brunet with a wide smile, "What brings you here, Jongdae? You weren't perhaps really going to buy Baekhyun a new phone, were you?"

Laughing awkwardly that he had been caught, Jongdae nodded, "I felt kind of bad."

Baekbeom's smile never wavered as he threw an arm around the younger boy's shoulder, "What's your relationship with my brother?" He led the two down the sidewalk at a slow pace.

Confused, Jongdae answered, "He's the Well and I'm the wisher. We met because I got transferred to his class after my school burnt down... and I think we're slowly becoming friends."

"Of course," Baekbeom replied. "You want to know a secret?" At the young man's hesitant nod, Baekbeom said, "You must be special. Baekhyun actually shared a pot of ramen with you. Hell, he even let you in his room."

Because of the favor.

Baekbeom continued, "You're special, or your wish is, but either way you are too. My brother doesn't just accept favors."

"I guess," Jongdae said.

What's the point of this?

"Take care of Baekhyun for me."

Jongdae stole a glance at the man beside him. The bright smile he wore just moments ago had vanished, replaced by a small curving of the lips. Why was Baekbeom telling him to take care of Baekhyun? Before he could voice his question, Baekbeom spoke again.

"I think this might be the last visit I make for a long while. My brother, he's always thinking of me, waiting for me. It would be nice if he had others to keep him occupied. Earlier, he gave me a whole stack of letters. I love how adorable and sentimental he can be, but... sometimes I worry about what would happen if I just disappeared and never came back."

"So, the fact that you're planning to stay for two weeks is so that you can spend your time together before saying goodbye? Why are you even leaving?" Jongdae questioned, not understanding the man's motives. Instead of a verbal response, Baekbeom shook his head.

Stepping away from the young brunet, Baekbeom said quietly, "What's your brother's name?"

"Kim Jongdeok. Why?"

Baekbeom's eyes widened, "I knew someone named Kim Jongdeok. Did he go to Yoonkyu High School?"

The brunet was surprised. "Yes, he did."

Baekbeom smiled at the younger male before stopping at the crosswalk, "That's amazing. I never would have thought you were his little brother. We went to Yoonkyu together for a year before I graduated. He was still a first year."

Jongdae wanted to ask him if he knew Jongdeok's whereabouts, but he figured Baekbeom wouldn't know. Baekbeom said he knew Jongdeok.

---

Baekbeom had locked himself in his bedroom, reading through the letters Baekhyun had written him. They brought tears into his eyes, whether from laughing or emotional feels. He couldn't stay or keep in touch no matter how much he wanted and Baekhyun pleaded and asked, not until he became assured it was safe.

He put away the letters and went to his brother's room. Since the door was wide open he stepped inside without bothering to knock, "Yah, you're so mushy. You're like the result of diarrhea."

"Gross," Baekhyun groaned, disgusted at his brother comparing him to all the time. "Do I look like poop to you?"

"You're pretty poop, don't worry," Baekbeom settled himself down on his brother's bed, causing the papers to slide to the floor. "Sorry," he muttered, hastily gathering the sheets and placing them back where he thought they went.

"Where did you go off to?" Baekhyun asked as casually as he could, fixing his brother's mistakes. Before leaving the shop, Baekbeom said he had to do something and sent him off home by himself. Baekhyun listened without questioning, but now he was curious.

"I saw a friend."

"Oh? You didn't care to introduce me?"

"You're just poop, Baekkie."

"If I'm poop, what are you?"

"The toilet that has to take your crap."

The brothers burst into laughter. As much fun as it was to watch his brother deal with his favors, Baekbeom wandered about the room, inspecting item and after item. A thought struck him, "Baekhyun, did you ever order new ink for the pen? You wrote that you were running out and it was a bit obvious from the fading of the ink."

"I did, but then I lost my pen. I'm so sorry. I don't know where it could have possibly gone."

"Why are you apologizing?"

Baekhyun glanced up at his brother, pausing his activity, "Umm... because I promised to treasure it forever, but then... I lost it after about three or four months."

The older man smiled and walked over to his brother, suffocating the young man in a hug, "Aww, you're too cute. It's okay, Hyunnie, everyone loses things."

So sensitive and fragile beneath all that facade.

"You should get yourself a girlfriend," Baekbeom pushed his brother back so he could see his face.

He said girlfriend...  he must be serious.

Baekhyun raised his brows, "Me? What about you? You're getting old whereas I'm still young and fresh. I haven't even graduated high school yet. You really should think about settling in a family; since you're done with your military service I think it's a good time to start."

Scoffing, Baekbeom ruffled his sibling's hair, "Why are you giving me advice on my love life when you don't even have one?" A smirk appeared on his face and the conversation lost all earnest, "Oh wait... you have Jongdae, I almost forgot."

Baekhyun's cheeks flushed, "Please don't say that; please don't ever mention what you saw last night."

"I should have taken a picture, you two were really cute."

---

"Run the serial number, it could be someone else's," Prosecutor Do handed the bag to a man wearing a worn-out suit. The prosecutor turned to his friend and gently touched her shoulder, "It could be someone else's. It was burnt pretty badly."

His words didn't assure her. Her eldest son had ordered a special twin set of watches for himself and her other son. She had analyzed the way her Baekhyun caressed and took care of his beloved watch. She knew how it looked. She shuddered and dug the heels of her hands against her eyes. Her heart felt heavy and her surroundings began to spin.

They were both wearing theirs this morning. It can't be theirs.

Prosecutor Do gently led Prosecutor Byun to Detective Cho, "Could you take her home? She's not feeling well." The detective took the woman by the shoulders and led her to his car.

I'll be damned if it belonged to either of them.
    
---

"Yura is really your brother's girlfriend?" Chanyeol was still in shock at the coincidence.

"They met while at college," Kyungsoo smirked. "If they get married, we're going to be brothers." The tall male frowned and offered a silent prayer that wouldn't be the case. "Where's Jaehwa? It's weird not seeing you two together."

Chanyeol sighed, "She's busy spending girl time with her sister."

"Yah, is that what this is?" Kyungsoo snapped, jabbing Chanyeol in the arm. From his peripheral vision he caught sight of his ually confused friend. "I'm the replacement for your girlfriend? If that's the case, I don't want to hang out with you anymore." The shorter male sped away suddenly. Fortunately for Chanyeol, his long legs carried him over so he still walked beside his red-haired friend.

"Come on, Kyungsoo, don't be like that."

From the opposite direction walking toward them, Jongdae was thrown off by the wild grin on Kyungsoo's face and the way he charged over. Before he could react, Kyungsoo snagged his arm and hauled him down the street, ignoring the tall brunet dying for his attention. "Hello to you too," Jongdae said as he kept up with Kyungsoo's brisk pace.

"Ignore the giant looming over me," Kyungsoo said breathlessly. "Glad you could make it. How was Baekhyun's?"

"Well, his brother came to visit."

Kyungsoo and Chanyeol skidded to a stop, "Baekbeom came over?"

Jongdae nodded enthusiastically, "He's a really cool guy. Baekhyun's lucky."

The youngest of the trio agreed and continued walking down the sidewalk, "Makes sense why Baekhyun couldn't make it. Joonmyun's busy with tutoring. That guy seriously needs to take a break, whether he's the one being tutored or the one that's tutoring. Did Hyunsik reply back?"

"He's at his grandmother's and he won't be back until later tonight," Jongdae replied.

"So it's just us..." Kyungsoo muttered.

The group stopped at the crosswalk and Chanyeol pursed his lips, "What were you planning to do today, Kyungsoo?"

"The usual," Kyungsoo grinned, but his smile faltered as Jongdae and Chanyeol sighed in unison. "Yah!" Kyungsoo smacked friends on the back of their heads, "I brought food, so be grateful you little pieces of crap! I was considerate enough to think of your hunger."

The three friends found an empty area under the shade. After laying the thin blanket Kyungsoo packed in his backpack, they laid down and stared up at the sky through the foliage protecting them from the sun. "I love nature, isn't nature nice?" Jongdae grinned widely. "It's nice to connect to Mother Nature every once in awhile."

The boys went from topic to topic for about an hour before their stomaches signaled it was time to eat the sandwiches Kyungsoo made. Not wanting to take the leftovers home, Kyungsoo walked around the park asking person after person if they wanted them. Jongdae was focused on his friend's progress while Chanyeol was busy observing Jongdae.

"Jongdae."

The older male slowly glanced at him, "Chanyeol."

"What's your relationship with Baekhyun?"

"Clarify."

Brushing his hair away from his face and moistening his lips, Chanyeol replied, "Baekhyun slept over at your place the other night and then you slept over at his last night. Are you guys... like... dating?"

Jongdae stared at Chanyeol for several silent and awkward seconds. He pursed his lips, "What? Does it look like we're dating? We're just friends."

Chanyeol shook his head, "No. Baekhyun doesn't like having friends sleeping over. He barely likes having friends visit. I had to pay him to let me stay at his place just for two hours. Did you pay him to sleep over?"

"No, why the hell would I do that?"

"He never accepts the dates I set him on either, so I was starting to think maybe he swung the other way. So when I found out about you two, I was wondering if you two were dating."

Jongdae shook his head, "We're not dating, Chanyeol."

"Then what is it?!"

The older male jumped from the sudden outburst, "Damn! What is your problem?"

Chanyeol quickly got on his knees and bowed all the way to the ground, "Sorry. Forgive me." He kept repeating his apology; by the time Kyungsoo returned, the red-haired boy had to kick Chanyeol to get him to stop.

"Jongdae!" Chanyeol grabbed the hands of the eldest of the trio and gripped on tightly. "Please don't hate me! I'm trying very hard to be your friend but you're making me very upset."

What is wrong with this guy?

Kyungsoo pried Chanyeol off of Jongdae, "Are you jealous of our Jongdae spending so much time with Baekhyun? Well, it's your fault for pushing Baekhyun away. You know how much he hates Jaehwa."

"Do you know their story?" Jongdae asked hopefully, desperately wanting answers.

Chanyeol fixed his posture before replying, "They were childhood friends because their brothers were close friends. Also, her dad was friends with Baekhyun's mom. I'm not quite sure what happened, but they stopped talking to each other. One day I asked Baekhyun to help introduce us. At first he refused, but then he suddenly gave me her number a couple days later."

"Baekhyun said he never liked her, right?" Kyungsoo turned to the tall brunet who shook his head. "But he could be lying."

Chanyeol shook his heaed again, "No. Baekhyun doesn't like her, never did and probably never will. I asked her about their issue but she wouldn't say anything either. It's between them and only they can resolve their internal problems."

---

An impatient person pounded against the front door and repeatedly pressed the door bell. With a heavy sigh, Baekhyun rose up and opened the door, shocked to see it was his own mother. She burst through the door and slammed it shut, trembling hands set to locking the door.

Alarmed, Baekhyun reached out for his mother, whose skin was pale and cold. Her lips quivered as she urgently asked him, "Where's your brother?" She grasped onto her son's wrist and looked down at the watch as she repeated her question. Baffled at his mother's strange behavior, Baekhyun silently gestured toward the kitchen. Bolting away while dragging onto her Hyunnie, she repeated the wrist grabbing action with her other son.

"Mom! What are you doing?" Baekbeom gasped in surprise, dropping the ladle on the floor.

Mrs. Byun pulled Baekhyun over and inspected their watches side-by-side. Her heart raced when her eyes caught the subtle difference of hue with her analytical and observant eyes. "Beommie, please tell me you didn't lose your watch recently."

"I-I did," Baekbeom replied. "I lost it a couple of weeks ago so I asked for another one. Why?"

"Have you been to Yoonkyu High School recently?"

The man shook his head, "I haven't been there since I graduated."

Mrs. Byun seemed as if she were going to burst into tears. She turned to her Hyunnie and caressed his face, "Have you been to Yoonkyu?"

Baekhyun mimicked his brother's action, "I haven't been there since Baekbeom's graduation."

Something's terribly wrong.

The doorbell rang.

He will be okay. He will be okay.

Baekhyun opened the door to see Mr. Do and Mr. Cho, but judging by their attire they were there for business and not just to drop by for a friendly hello. Before Baekhyun could speak, Mrs. Byun stood beside her son, "Detective Cho, Prosecutor Do."

Detective Cho hesitantly took out a piece of paper and handed it to Mrs. Byun, "We would like to summon Byun Baekbeom and Byun Baekhyun for questioning."

Both of them? Why?

"Why do you need them?" Mrs. Byun asked, gently pushing her Hyunnie behind her.

Prosecutor Do spoke, "We ran the serial number on the watch. It belongs to one of your boys." His eyes flickered to Baekhyun's wrist. "Is Baekbeom home?" Eavesdropping from the kitchen, Baekbeom turned off the stove and made his way to the front door. The prosecutor glanced at Baekbeom's wrist as well.

Of all days, why is my Beommie home now?

"We'll take your boys for questioning. If they did nothing wrong, they are free to go," Detective Cho said to ease Mrs. Byun.

She snapped at him, "Of course they did nothing wrong! You're just wasting your time!" To her sons, she gave them a sad smile, "Go with them. I'll finish cooking up dinner."

"A-Are you sure? You should rest, you don't look too well," Baekbeom said but his mother shook her head. "Can't we just do it here?" he asked the two men but neither responded.

The eldest Byun brother gently placed his hand on his younger brother's back and guided him to Detective Cho's vehicle. As the two sat in the back of the car, they expected to see their mother standing under the doorway, but the door had already been slammed shut and locked. Afraid out of his wits, Baekhyun reached across the car seat and took his brother's hand.

"I'm sorry boys, it's just regulation. I'm sure it will go smoothly," Prosecutor Do said in an attempt to ease the situation.

It's not going to go as smoothly as you think.

Baekbeom gave his brother's hand a gentle squeeze.